Dinner Table Trials
Our family eats dinner together, around the table, nearly every night. I like routines and I think eating together as a family is important so this is a win/win. But such regularity also gives rise to the observations and annoyances that are inevitable when any group of people get together so frequently.
For one, the 6-year-old holds unbelievable sway over how his younger brothers act at the table.
It’s ridiculous, but a spirited, “this is good!” from him at the beginning of dinner, does more to encourage good dinner eating than any amount of prodding from Mom or Dad. Of course, the reverse is even more true. If he pans his food like a pretentious food critic, he can sour the appetite of his brothers.
Peter Parker (aka Spiderman) was solemnly cautioned that, “with great power, comes great responsibility.” In the case of the 6-year-old, with great power comes great unpredictability. And the potential for an across-the-board rejection of dinner if he’s in a bad mood.
The 4-year-old apparently alternates between thinking he’s a hunter-gatherer or a horse. On the one hand he regularly wanders away from the table as if dinner is a roving excursion to search for food. He seems surprised when I tell him to sit down or that he hasn't been excused. I’m not sure why he thinks nomadism is necessary when we put food on his plate, but his actions suggest he does.
On the other hand, he will sometimes be eating and I’ll look over and see he is either standing up or has one leg on the ground and is leaning against his seat with the other. I’ve taken to saying, “why are you eating like a horse?” when he does this. I guess mobility is an important attribute to him at the dinner table.
The 2-year-old is a little punk during dinner. For one, he’s constantly trying to put his feet on the 6-year-old. He will literally sit sideways to accomplish this while pretending to eat. He does a lot of pretend eating, at least at dinner. I’m pretty sure to him, dinner is a game where he tries to 1) eat as little as possible while 2) trying to instigate a fight with one of his brothers by 3) sneakily putting his feet on them under the table as many times as he can.
And the 15-month-old oversees it all from his elevated perch. He’s in a high chair and the name is apropos to his situation as his chair does indeed sit a little bit higher than the table. From up on his throne, he eagerly grunts and points down at any food that catches his eye. It’s always food not on his plate. It’s also almost always dessert.
You’d think at some point he’d realize the food in front of him is there for eating, not for throwing on the floor. But no, he squeals and grunts at the spread on the table while flinging any food on his tray anywhere but in his mouth.
I guess I should just be thankful that we get to eat together so often. And that we’re not fighting the cell phone/tablet/TV battle at dinner. At least not yet.
For one, the 6-year-old holds unbelievable sway over how his younger brothers act at the table.
It’s ridiculous, but a spirited, “this is good!” from him at the beginning of dinner, does more to encourage good dinner eating than any amount of prodding from Mom or Dad. Of course, the reverse is even more true. If he pans his food like a pretentious food critic, he can sour the appetite of his brothers.
Peter Parker (aka Spiderman) was solemnly cautioned that, “with great power, comes great responsibility.” In the case of the 6-year-old, with great power comes great unpredictability. And the potential for an across-the-board rejection of dinner if he’s in a bad mood.
The 4-year-old apparently alternates between thinking he’s a hunter-gatherer or a horse. On the one hand he regularly wanders away from the table as if dinner is a roving excursion to search for food. He seems surprised when I tell him to sit down or that he hasn't been excused. I’m not sure why he thinks nomadism is necessary when we put food on his plate, but his actions suggest he does.
On the other hand, he will sometimes be eating and I’ll look over and see he is either standing up or has one leg on the ground and is leaning against his seat with the other. I’ve taken to saying, “why are you eating like a horse?” when he does this. I guess mobility is an important attribute to him at the dinner table.
The 2-year-old is a little punk during dinner. For one, he’s constantly trying to put his feet on the 6-year-old. He will literally sit sideways to accomplish this while pretending to eat. He does a lot of pretend eating, at least at dinner. I’m pretty sure to him, dinner is a game where he tries to 1) eat as little as possible while 2) trying to instigate a fight with one of his brothers by 3) sneakily putting his feet on them under the table as many times as he can.
And the 15-month-old oversees it all from his elevated perch. He’s in a high chair and the name is apropos to his situation as his chair does indeed sit a little bit higher than the table. From up on his throne, he eagerly grunts and points down at any food that catches his eye. It’s always food not on his plate. It’s also almost always dessert.
You’d think at some point he’d realize the food in front of him is there for eating, not for throwing on the floor. But no, he squeals and grunts at the spread on the table while flinging any food on his tray anywhere but in his mouth.
I guess I should just be thankful that we get to eat together so often. And that we’re not fighting the cell phone/tablet/TV battle at dinner. At least not yet.